Lillian Freeman Aylor

Today, Lillian Freeman Aylor is citizen of quiet prominence and steadfast influence. Her life as an African-American woman in rural Virginia during segregation, through integration, and into this new millennium is a personal journey that reflects the changing world around her.

Born in Gid Brown Hollow in 1938, the oldest of six children, she grew up in a log cabin and attended school at the Washington Graded School in Little Washington, Va. In those days Rappahannock county only had school for African-American children until grade 7 so after grade school she made the daily arduous trip to Culpeper's George Washington Carver Regional High School and completed high school.

At 18 she married local horse trainer Moody Aylor then she had three children, divorced, enrolled in computer training school, worked as a bank proof operator, and retuned to Rappahannock where she became housekeeper and bookkeeper for the Mount Vernon Stock Farm. In 2011 she became innkeeper for the newly opened Inn at Mount Vernon Farm where she is a renowned chef.

At 81, Lillian continues to live independently actively engaged in her community. She has been honored as Citizen of the Year, nominated for Aging Together's Five over Fifty Award, served as an election official for over 30 years and has been a leader in the preservation of African-American history.

The first African-American on the Rappahannock Historical Society Board, a deaconess in the Promised Land Baptist Church and founder of the Unity Choir she is central supporting the local faith community and energizing African-American choral music despite the area's dwindling black population.

Lillian Aylor is a woman of remarkable character who never imagined becoming a writer. In her words, "When I started this story, I think I was a little embarrassed to talk about my life. I've thought of myself as a shy person who just wants to get along... after all I've done, I'm a stronger person that I thought."